Short answers, pulled from the story.
Vitruvius served as an artilleryman during the 1st century BC, specifically participating in the siege of Larignum in 56 BC. He documented military campaigns including Avaricum in 52 BC, Dyrrhachium, Pharsalus, Zela, and Thapsus while serving with Legio VI Ferrata.
Vitruvius asserted that every structure must exhibit firmitatis, utilitatis, and venustatis which translate to stability, utility, and beauty respectively. These concepts form the Vitruvian Triad or Vitruvian virtues that guide architectural design according to his philosophy.
Poggio Bracciolini rediscovered the original manuscript of Vitruvius in Saint Gall Abbey on the 14th of January 1414. The text had been lost for centuries before this discovery led to translations into Italian, French, English, German, and Spanish.
Vitruvius described aqueducts using surveying methods and recommended clay pipes over lead due to adverse health effects from lead mining connections. He detailed inverted siphons with high pressure problems at pipe bases and Archimedes screws used to raise water for irrigation fields or drain mines.
Fra Giovanni Giocondo published the first illustrated edition of Vitruvius in Venice during 1511 using woodcuts based on textual descriptions. This publication replaced missing diagrams since the original illustrations had been lost before this date.